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My dog has leishmaniasis. Can he be treated instead of put down?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Large (61lb +) | Male

Hi, my dog in Turkey has just been diagnosed with leishmaniasis but just keeps saying we should put him down. I know drugs are available in the UK but don't know which way to turn. Can you help?

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Massimo Orioles, DVM, Cert AVP, MRCVS

Veterinarian

Published on July 7th, 2019

A diagnosis of Leishmaniosis is not automatically death sentence as this disease can be treated and eventually cured or at least its progression can be slowed down. This would require a staging of the disease first before being able to give you a reliable prognosis. Please have a look at this article (especially under clinical staging, treatment and prognosis section): https://parasitesandvectors.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1756-3305-4-86 Do not hesitate to ask more if needed either through the forum or by requesting a consultation.

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    Answered By Dr. Massimo Orioles, DVM, Cert AVP, MRCVS

    Veterinarian

    Published on March 22nd, 2018

    Most common Leishmania infection in dogs rarely is the visceral form, so the possibility that is going to be like that or develop the visceral form is very low. If not treated the leishmania infection can have serious consequences and lead to death. Treatment is necessary, but to be able to comment that I would need more precise clinical informations. For the moment please follow this link to find more detailed informations about therapy: http://www.leishvet.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/LeishVet-2edition.pdf Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

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